Living in an Asian society, we are almost always inundated with well-meaning advice offered for almost everything under the sun. For example, when you are diagnosed with dengue fever, at least five different people will prescribe a host of different remedies – ranging from frog porridge from a particular stall in Port Klang to the juice of a particular fruit which is only found in the hills of Pahang.

Unfortunately, today, this has turned into something more sinister: the monetisation of well-meaning advice. When someone offers health advice these days, there is often an underlying motive. What do I mean by this? In previous years, an acquaintance would ask you to get some honey and ginger tea to drink to help you with that long cough you have been having. Today, the same advice comes with an addendum: “You need Brand X herbal medicine ginger tea and honey extract, which luckily I am selling and will give to you for RM Y”.

As someone working in the field of cancer, this is something I face every day. Patients are inundated with “well-meaning” friends, acquaintances, neighbours and even family members trying to give them “treatment advice”, which unfortunately comes with a price tag attached.

In fact, nine times out of 10, when my patients are offered “well-meaning” advice someone is trying to sell them some kind of “miracle” drug or medication which, oh, by the way, also gives the seller some kind of “small” profit (or as is often said, “a bit of cari makanlah”). Is this a conflict of interest?

Traditionally, a conflict of interest usually happens when someone in an official capacity makes a decision which has a personal benefit for them. An easy example of this would be when the office boss decides to award the office annual dinner catering contract to his wife’s company. In this case, the boss in his official capacity is the decision-maker who decides who gets the catering contract; and by awarding it to his wife’s company, he indirectly profits from that decision. This is a conflict of interest.

However, conflicts of interest are not limited to those acting in their official capacity. As in the anecdote shared earlier, when someone gives health advice, I make the case that they are in a “position of power” – simply because you or they feel that they “know better”. But when you take that advice and buy the medication or take up the treatment, they earn a profit. Thus there is actually a conflict of interest when they give you the so-called “well-meaning” advice. Not many people realise this.

Doctors and other healthcare professionals are often accused of having conflicts of interest. An oft-cited myth is how “doctors ask us to take so many medicines because they are making a profit from selling these medicines”. Many people try to stay away from taking conventionally-prescribed treatments from doctors as they think that the doctors have a conflict of interest.

Ironically the same group of people who reject conventional treatment or medications because they think doctors are making money from it are often the ones who buy a whole lot of alternative, non-proven medication from other sources – including on the recommendation of friends and colleagues who often are peddling these alternative medications as “authorised agents”.

Few people realise how severe this conflict of interest is in the healthcare sector. One of the classic examples is that of the anti-vaccination movement even here in Malaysia. Research conducted within the “anti-vaxxer” community reveals many of them firmly believe that these vaccines are doing harm to their children, which is why they refuse the administration of these vaccines. These beliefs, interestingly or unfortunately, have been inculcated into them by peddlers of “alternative” medications who market inefficacious but well-branded products which are claimed to be safer than vaccines in protection against infectious diseases. This includes the sale of different types of “mega vitamins” and other supplements, many of which are either not-registered or touted to be efficacious for uses that they were never conceived for.

Another health example where conflict of interest crops up is within the sphere of “smoking” – an important area of public health concern. E-cigarettes are being touted as an effective alternative to conventional cigarettes with many parties fighting to legalise e-cigarettes and make them as widely available as possible despite more and more evidence emerging of the health and social risks of e-cigarettes.

Looking closely, however, one can discover that many of the parties pushing for the legalisation and expansion of the sale of e-cigarettes are parties who will benefit from this, including manufacturers and retailers. When e-cigarette retailers who will gain a huge profit from the sale of these devices push for people to switch to e-cigarettes because these are “healthy”, isn’t it a conflict of interest?

I am a doctor. Thus my conflict of interest is clear when I am seen to defend the healthcare profession although I am clear about calling a spade a spade. Healthcare professionals often have an inverse conflict of interest in healthcare. How? Healthcare professionals work in treatment and health prevention. In fact, the more successful we are at doing our jobs, the more we risk running out of a job in that sense. So generally for healthcare professionals, a conflict of interest is the last thing on our minds since in our daily lives, we are actually working against our personal interests!

As we start 2020, there are two immediate things that any layperson should be careful about when talking about conflict of interest, especially in healthcare. First, always consider carefully when you receive “health” advice by non-health personnel, even when given in a well-meaning vein. Look deeper to see whether the person giving the advice is benefitting financially from the advice. If they do, they definitely have a conflict of interest. Take such advice or recommendations with a huge tablespoon of salt.

On the other side of the coin, please don’t be so suspicious of the advice or recommendations of healthcare professionals. In terms of health, your health is the only interest they have at heart.

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.

Jika anda bertanya kepada pelancong mengapa mereka memilih Malaysia sebagai destinasi pelancongan, jawapannya adalah kerana keunikan yang ada dengan kehidupan pelbagai bangsa.

Malah dengan bangsa yang pelbagai itu mampu membuatkan masyarakat hidup dengan aman sekaligus mencatatkan Malaysia negara ke-16 paling aman di dunia.

Bagi senarai Asia Tenggara pula, Malaysia adalah negara ke-3 paling aman selepas Jepun dan Singapura.

Ia berdasarkan laporan Indeks Keamanan Global (GPI) 2019 sekaligus ia mampu menarik perhatian pelabur dan pelancong asing untuk datang ke Malaysia.

Laporan itu juga menunjukkan kedudukan yang baik berbanding tangga ke-26 pada 2018, ia suatu pencapaian yang boleh dibanggakan!

Dengan capaian tersebut, ia juga mampu menarik kedatangan 30 juta pelancong antarabangsa dan RM100 juta resit pelancongan pada tahun ini sempena Tahun Melawat Malaysia 2020 (VM2020).

Sasaran itu dinyatakan Perdana Menteri Dr Mahathir Mohamad agar menjadikan VM2020 sebagai misi nasional dengan bercerita dan berkongsi mengenai kecantikan, keamanan dan keindahan negara ini.

Malah, pelbagai destinasi pelancongan yang boleh dikunjungi sama ada di sebelah utara yang terkenal dengan syurga makanan di Pulau Pinang, di belah timur dengan seni dan budaya tersendiri di Kelantan dan Terengganu serta di sebelah barat yang terkenal dengan keindahan alam dan semulajadi.

Begitu juga di Sabah dan Sarawak mempunyai keunikan yang mampu menggamit hati pelancong, namun kerajaan kini sedang mempergiat aktiviti kawalan daripada dicerobohi anasir luar yang sebelum ini sering berlaku pencerobohan dan penculikan di sana.

Anda ada berita menarik untuk dikongsi? Sila email ke fmtohsem@freemalaysiatoday.com

GUA MUSANG, Jan 15 — The Orang Asli from the Batek tribe in Kampung Aring 5, here, lost their source of income when about 300 rubber trees were destroyed by five wild elephants early yesterday.

The four-year-old trees on 2.4 hectares of land which were expected to yield rubber latex soon, were attacked by the herd between 2am and 5am.

Kampung Aring 5 headman Raina Anjang said residents discovered the damage done to their plantation when they were heading to work at 7am and were shocked and saddened by the sight.

He said such attacks had become more frequent recently, and last month alone, the water tanks and piping system had been attacked twice, causing disruption of clean water supply to residents’ homes.

“The damaged water pipes were repaired through ‘gotong-royong’, but early today, it was the rubber plantation which was destroyed by a group of wild elephants,” he said, adding that the matter had been raised to the Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) numerous times, but to no avail. — Bernama

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 15 — The granting of compensation to pilgrims who perished or injured in the Mecca crane collapse case in 2015 is proof of King of Saudi Arabia King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud’s concern about the wellbeing of the victims and their families, Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to Malaysia Datuk Mahmoud Hussien Saeed Qattan said.

In fact, he said that although the construction company responsible for the upgrading work taking place at the Grand Mosque during the time of the incident was found not guilty and was not required to pay any compensation to the victims, King Salman took it upon himself to personally provide an allocation as compensation to the victims and their families.

On the day the tragic incident occurred after the Asar prayer on September 11, 2015, Mahmoud Hussein said King Salman rushed to the scene and ordered for an immediate investigation to be carried out to expedite the distribution of the compensation.

“His Majesty King Salman has closely monitored the development of the case, from the commencement of the investigation right to the distribution of compensation to the victims from all the countries involved.

“Saudi Arabia has always put the services to Islam and Muslims as its top priorities and the two Holy cities of Mecca and Madinah are the most important locations for Haj pilgrimage,” he said in a special interview with Bernama at the Saudi Arabian Embassy here yesterday.

Elaborating, Mahmoud Hussien said King Salman is always proud being the custodian of the two holy cities and is of the opinion that the title came with a huge responsibility in Islam, both at national and international levels.

The ambassador said the compensation would be channelled through the Malaysian government, with the aim to alleviate the burden of the victims and families who lost their loved ones in the tragedy.

Seven families of the deceased victims will receive SAR 1 million (equivalent to RM1.17 million) each, while three injured victims would receive SAR 500,000 (RM587,574) each.

On the effectiveness of Tabung Haji (TH) in managing the Malaysian Haj pilgrims, Mahmoud Hussien said TH had always been the exemplary benchmark for other countries in Haj operations and pilgrim management.

“I know that several Muslim countries have been in contact with Malaysia to learn about TH’s experience and expertise in managing all aspects related to Haj pilgrimage.

“This is indeed a positive development… I do hope that the cooperation between TH and the Saudi Arabian Embassy here can be preserved and strengthened so as to give the best Haj services to the pilgrims,” he said.

The ambassador, who has been serving in Malaysia since February 2017, also expressed hope that TH will continue to progress in its investment and development of Haj management in the future.

On the Saudi Arabian government’s preparations for this year’s Haj season, Mahmoud Hussien said preparations had begun a day after the last year’s Haj season ended.

“Several development projects in Mecca and Madinah have also been completed ahead of this year’s Haj season to ensure that only the best services would be rendered to the pilgrims,” he added. — Bernama

KIMANIS, Jan 14 — Parti Warisan Sabah (Warisan) candidate in the Kimanis parliamentary constituency by-election, Datuk Karim Bujang, is determined to reach out to all communities regardless of race and religion while campaigning for the by-election.

While denying an accusation that he has neglected the Kadazandusun and Murut (KDM) communities during his campaign, Karim said the allegation was baseless as he and the Warisan machinery always made the effort to visit all areas in the Kimanis parliamentary constituency.

“I deny it (that I have sidelined the KDM), that is not true. Why should I sideline the community and you can check from the previous general election (2018) results that I received more votes from KDM. In fact, I won in most of the KDM areas.

“They are my supporters all along, they all know who I am. I know them and I promise to be a representative for everyone,” he said when met after his campaigning in Kampung Matujung, Membakut here yesterday.

Karim, 67, was responding to an allegation that he had neglected certain communities during his campaign.

On the criticisms by certain quarters that Karim was a recycled candidate at the Kimanis by-election, he said he was not offended by the statement.

“I am not offended by such comments. I am a straightforward person and if it is the time for me to quit (retire), I will quit. (Most importantly), I will do the best for the younger generation in this area if I am given a chance,” he added.

The Kimanis by-election is a straight fight between Karim and Datuk Mohamad Alamin of BN.

The Election Commission has fixed January 18 for polling day and early voting today. — Bernama

LOS ANGELES: Amazon.com Inc is planning to give more data on counterfeit goods to law enforcement in a further crackdown on fakes listed on its e-commerce sites, a person familiar with the program told Reuters.

The move comes as Amazon faces public scrutiny over how it polices counterfeits and allegedly unsafe products on its platform.

Fakes have long frustrated top labels like Apple Inc and Nike Inc, discouraging some from selling via Amazon at all.

In the past, the world’s largest online retailer has informed authorities of counterfeit peddlers when it thought it had enough information for police to pursue a culprit.

Now, the company plans to disclose merchant information to European and US federal authorities every time it confirms a counterfeit was sold to customers, increasing the frequency and volume of reporting to law enforcement, according to the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Why the new program was happening now was not immediately clear.

Amazon struck a deal with Apple in 2018 in which it agreed to rid its site of products from merchants not authorized by the Cupertino, California-based technology company.

It has sued peddlers of fakes and launched a counterfeit removal tool for brands, actions in tension with its aim to increase profit by offering more products for sale.

In recent weeks, Amazon has held meetings with government authorities and related organisations to discuss its new counterfeit reporting strategy and how the company can further their enforcement efforts, the person said.

The hope has been that Amazon’s coveted data will help law enforcement make connections about criminals.

According to the source, Amazon will report a merchant’s name, company name, product and contact information to authorities, after it confirms a business was selling fakes, closes the seller’s account, and the account holder does not make a successful appeal via Amazon’s typical processes.

In an April memo, US President Donald Trump ordered a crackdown on fakes sold via online marketplaces while the country was locked in trade talks with China, one source of counterfeits.

The Trump administration also considered last year adding some Amazon websites to its “Notorious Markets” list for counterfeits, the Wall Street Journal reported, though similar proposals in 2018 were discarded.

The value of global trade in pirated and counterfeit goods is half a trillion dollars per year, according to an estimate cited in the Trump memo.